Mes: julio 2022

Being a commercial driver can be expensive. With marked-up beverages at truck stops, expensive commercial truck repairs, overpriced restaurant meals, and a host of other expenses, it’s not uncommon to end up losing cash on the road or having a paycheck that barely covers your daily expenditures.

To help commercial drivers save money, we’ve compiled nine ways to lower your expenses and keep more cash in your wallet while you’re on the road.

1. Travel Savvy

When you’re getting in or out of your vehicle, chances are that you’re going to need someone to transport you to your personal vehicle or your home. Instead of relying on taxicab service or renting a vehicle (both expensive options), choose Uber or Lyft to help you get from Point A to Point B. Uber and Lyft both give you cost estimates on your trips, so you know what you’re spending ahead of time.

And if you’re looking to explore the city where you may be during your rolling 34 restart, mass transportation is always an option. It may be tempting to take a taxi or other service, but mass transportation is designed to take you through the most populated areas in the shortest timespan possible. Let someone else take the wheel for a change!

2. Give Yourself a Cash Per Diem

There’s a lot of talk about budgeting on the road, but why not give yourself a weekly spending limit that lets you spend your money as you see fit? By making a “per diem” that you can draw from, you get a better hold on your finances (pun intended). Psychologically speaking, it is more “painful” to spend cash than to rack up debit/credit card purchases – plus you won’t have to wait for those purchases to post to your account.

The other benefit of giving yourself this type of allowance is that you will immediately know when your allotted money is running out. If you run out of money before the week elapses, you can trace where your money is going and how much you need to drive your best each day. You may be surprised to learn just how much you’re spending on coffee and other daily expenses each day.

On a side note, by limiting your credit card transactions, you can easily determine if your identity has been stolen – an unfortunate reality for many on-the-go drivers

3. Open up a “Round Up” Savings Account

It’s pretty obvious, but opening up a savings account is a must to keep more money in your wallet. To make this even easier, many banks offer the ability to “round up” your debit card purchases and deposit the difference into your savings account automatically, such as Bank of America’s Keep the Change® program. For those who struggle to make a habit of saving during the on-the-go lifestyle of a commercial truck driver, this is the one most efficient ways to be proactive about saving without thinking about it.

4. Meal Prep

If you’re a trucker, chances are that your meals are the most expensive combined purchases of your day. But because there’s relatively little time to sit down and prepare meals, getting price-gouged becomes a norm on the road.

However, this expense can be overcome by taking a day to meal prep during the week. To do this effectively, you will need:

• An inverter to power your appliances,
• A multi-burner stove, rice cooker, crockpot, and other methods to prepare your food,
• A refrigerator, freezer, or refrigerated cooler to preserve your meals,
• And a way to heat up your food quickly when you need it (i.e., microwave, skillet, toaster oven).

The startup costs range to are only a fraction of what you spend on meals and can be prepped for multiple days of “home”-cooked food. And making a small investment can pay for itself within a week – especially if you spend more than $30/day on food.

This makes a difference in your health and ability to drive optimally without food allergies, substandard ingredients, and limited choices. There are plenty of great trucker-oriented recipes that are not only easy on the wallet, but also substantially more healthy for commercial drives.

You should read: Truck Supplies No Truck Driver Should Be Without

5. Shopping in Bulk

If you’re going to be on the road for a while, shopping in bulk is the way to go if you’re looking to save money. And there’s no better way than signing up for memberships for warehouse stores like Sam’s Club, Costco, Big Lots, and more. For an annual fee of around $60, you’re able to have items on hand that you regularly eat and use for discounted prices. Best of all, these warehouse stores often carry a wide selection of trucker-oriented goods, so you can do all of your shopping in one place to save time during your off-duty hours.

6. Avoid Traffic Violations

Most traffic violations are easy to avoid, but they’re a nuisance expense and a time-sink that you can do without. Barring innocent mistakes, exceeding the speed limit or driving in an unsafe manner are taken seriously, and you could be on the hook for hundreds of dollars – not to mention potentially jeopardizing your CDL license. The standards for commercial drivers are much higher than regular drives, so be extremely cautious on the road.

Also, be aware that even if you aren’t pulled over, you may receive traffic violations in the mail from red-light cameras. If you’re on the road for weeks at a time, you may get late-fees for non-payment or, potentially jeopardizing your license until the fines are paid.

7. Avoid Breakdowns with Preemptive Truck Repairs

If your wheels are not moving, you’re losing money. When it comes to taking care of your truck, taking the proper time to maintain your truck and address lingering issues saves you money down the road. For example, if your brakes are in poor condition, and you can’t handle the grade, you may be forced to use a runaway ramp (plus the tow + downtime). Or, if your fuel system is running too rich, you may be hemorrhaging gas and losing out on efficiency.

Preventative maintenance, such as performing regular oil changes, should be a normal part of your vehicle maintenance schedule. Set reminders for when you’re due for normal maintenance, and put aside some downtime to prioritize what your truck needs to perform optimally. Considering you drive your vehicle daily, any differences in performance should be clear indicators to search for a  “commercial truck repair shop near me” before you’re on the side of the interstate with help hours away.

8. Use Professional Driver Discounts

There are many places on the road that will give you a CDL discount – that is, if you ask for it. Hotels are usually more than happy to accommodate professional drivers and provide perks for frequent guests. Rental car companies provide discounts to drivers, and often don’t require their insurance coverage as drivers have their own. And some restaurants even offer discounted rates for drivers – especially during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

9. Use Cruise Control

As you can see, there are plenty of ways to save money on the road by taking the time to reorient how you perform your job, day-in and day-out. Whether you’re looking for truck repairs ahead of time, planning your meals, or padding out your savings, you’ll have more money at the end of the week.

To get more information about us, follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Or call us right now for a road service on: repairtrucktrailer.com

Odd as it may sound, your car is not designed with the needs of a truck driver in mind. That means you might be tempted to use things like iced coffee or even an ice scraper when on the road. You might also think that some things are too large to fit in the glove compartment or center console and figure they’ll stay out and take up space instead.

This information will help you understand what your truck supplies to have in your truck and why to better prepare for every trip. Once that’s done, we’ll go over where everything goes so that it doesn’t get lost or jumbled together, so badly you won’t know which way is up anymore!

Things a Truck Driver Should Never Be Without

Truck drivers are like the marines of the road. They require having prepared for anything every time, and because of that, they tend to carry around certain things with them. Here’s what no tow truck driver should go without:

• First aid kit
• Spare belts and hoses
• Basic toolset
• Spare fuses
• Maps
• Spare tire
• Cable tire chains
• First aid kit

You never know when you might need this, and therefore you shouldn’t leave home without it. Make sure, you include not only bandages but things like antiseptic wipes and triple antibiotic ointment as well.

Spare Belts and Hoses

You don’t want to be stranded on the side of the road with a broken belt or hose. The reason is that you need to get broken belts and hose changed to get back on the road as quickly as possible. Spare belts and hoses are the perfect solutions because you don’t need to wait for them to be ordered if your truck breaks down.

Basic Toolset

You might not need tools every day, but when you do, they will come in handy. There’s nothing worse than running out of gas on an empty tank, two states away from home. What is needed? A socket wrench set, pliers, screwdriver(s), hammer, and any other tool that might help you in the long run.

Spare Fuses

You may know it’s a good idea to keep spare fuses with you at all times in your car, but did you know it can also be helpful in your truck? Things like blown headlights or taillights can be fixed quickly with the spare fuses you keep in this kit.

You should read: Properly Monitor Truck Tire Pressure

Maps

Maps may seem odd to carry around with you, but they are invaluable tools that many truck drivers refuse to go without. You never know when you might need them! Best of all is that they don’t take up much space, so there’s no need to leave them at home.

Spare Tire

You always require a spare tire in your truck because if the one on it needs to be changed. It is therefore important for a truck driver to have basic truck repair skills; otherwise, then there’s no telling where you’ll end up! That’s why it’s generally better to have two. A spare tire is always there to bail you out when the one on your car fails.

Cable Tire Chains

For winter, after bad storms or both of these, you’ll want to always have cable chains with you. They are easy ways to get yourself back on track even in the worst conditions, so that’s why they belong in everyone’s emergency kit.

Conclusion

Truck drivers need to be always prepared for anything, and these are just a few of the many things to keep your truck safe once you’ve bought and assembled everything, you can mark and label where it goes so that there is no confusion the next time you need to use something.

To get more information about us, follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Or call us right now for a road service on: repairtrucktrailer.com

Tires are an integral part of any truck’s performance. They provide traction, braking and contribute to fuel economy. Properly maintained wheel pressure will also make sure that your tires last longer. Here is some helpful information on properly monitoring your truck’s wheel pressure, the indicators for repair (such as low air), and details of various repair services that can fix the issues.

Reasons Why Tires Often Lose Pressure

There are many variables that can cause your tire pressure to go down, but here are a common few.

• Leaks
• Punctures in the tire sidewalls
• Over-or under-inflation
• Natural wear and tear.

A tire needs to have sufficient air pressure to maintain good traction on the road surface – when your truck’s tires are under-inflated, they tend to wear down faster. Furthermore, the vehicle suffers in fuel economy when this happens, which affects your pocketbook too!

You should read: Common Causes Of A Truck Breakdown And How To Avoid Them

Some signs that show your wheel pressure is low, or you need to get them checked:

1. Noising (e.g., air whistling out of the valve stem)-You can hear this noise when the air pressure in your tire is too low.
2. Unusual wear and tear on the tire treads could indicate that the wheel pressure is too low, or there is another issue with your tires.
3. Uneven wear across the treads or sidewalls-usually caused by under-inflation, huge cracks on the sidewalls or treads that are not typical of the vehicle’s age (e.g., cracks appearing at faster than usual rate)
4. Tires that appear to be “flat” (lower than usual air pressure)-when you check their level with a tire-pressure gauge. Check the wheel pressure gauge’s accuracy if your truck’s tires are low.
5. Wheel pressure warning light on the dashboard-This is a sensor alarm that tells you when your tires are under-inflated. If this indicator has turned on, stop driving immediately to avoid further damage.

Why you Should Properly Monitor your Truck’s Tire Pressure

It would be best to have your truck’s wheel pressure checked regularly. You can do it yourself with an air compressor or go to a local service station with wheel pressure equipment. It’s also good to familiarize yourself with the correct wheel pressure ranges for your truck – this information is usually in your owner’s manual.

If you find out something wrong with the tires (e.g., leaks, punctures, over-or under-inflation, etc.), it’s best to bring your truck into a truck repair tire service center that can handle the problem.

Various Repair Services that can Fix the Issues

There are many types of services that generally perform this task. The most common ones include TPMS (tire pressure monitoring systems), TPMS Rebuilds, TPMS Sensor Replacement, TPMS Service Centers, wheel pressure gauges, and of course, tire services.

TPMS are electronic systems that record the air pressure inside your truck’s tires. The system is designed to regularly monitor the air pressure level in all your vehicle’s tires, so you’ll know when to take your vehicle for truck repair.

Components of TPMS:

1. Sensors
2. Controllers
3. Warning indicators

A TPMS rebuild service is quite self-explanatory; it means that the technician will inspect your system to see if there are any issues with sensors or valves (which need to be replaced) and then re-install the TPMS system back to your vehicle.

The TPMS sensor is a very common part that’s replaced for this service. When the TPMS light comes on, it indicates that one or more sensors have failed. These sensors can be easily replaced using several methods: the mechanic may use a tire mounting machine, a professional TPMS tool, or your car’s owner manual.

To get more information about us, follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Or call us right now for a road service on: repairtrucktrailer.com

Commercial trucks experience breakdowns just like every other vehicle on the road. Sometimes they are preventable by properly scheduling service for your vehicle at a professional truck repair shop.

Downtime is expensive, which is why getting regularly scheduled maintenance at a professional truck repair shop is so important. There are several common signs that indicate repair that our truck repair shop will identify and prevent from growing into a more significant problem. While these issues can be minor at first, they can steadily grow to become significant issues.

Tire Issues

The continuous strain of the road on your commercial truck’s tires causes tire issues. This is due to the wear and tear of the road and also the strain from the weight of your vehicle. Performing regular maintenance on your truck tires can ensure your tires can last and don’t cause issues while your truck is on the job. There are various indicators for tire issues that you may not be aware of! They are:

• Underinflated tires
• Overinflated tires
• Uneven wear on your truck’s tires
• “Balding” tires

All these indicators can showcase low-tread depth, misalignment, or more significant issues. You can avoid these issues by taking your truck to a specialized truck repair shop for tire repair and preventative maintenance! Knowing what causes these issues and actively seeking out a solution could be the difference between having a breakdown or not the next time your truck is on the job!

You should read: Everything to Know About Weigh Stations

Faulty Brakes

Another common issue is faulty brakes. Your commercial truck’s brakes are constantly exposed to friction, heat, and pressure, which causes them to wear down. If not properly maintained, then your brakes can lead to unfortunate circumstances leading to an accident.

These issues are preventable by providing your commercial truck with ample space to stop in an emergency during your drive. Also, receiving regular brake checks from a professional truck repair shop is a great way to ensure your brakes are in the best condition possible to ensure your safety and the safety of everyone else on the road.

Electrical Problems

The electrical system in your commercial truck has its share of potential issues. The electrical system comprises many components such as the alternator, battery, ignition system, and starter. These components can fail if not properly maintained and can cause issues with your electrical systems. This can prevent you from starting your truck or keeping your truck on!

End Note

A way to avoid these issues is by scheduling regular preventative maintenance for your commercial truck. Professional truck repair shops can find out these issues while they are still small and resolve them before they become more significant problems leading to a breakdown.

To get more information about us, follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Or call us right now for a road service on: repairtrucktrailer.com